The New Jersey Devils have to be bold with their 2025 offseason. GM Tom Fitzgerald is likely on the hot seat, and the team's run to the playoffs did not breed confidence. The Devils want to be actual contenders, and last year's team wasn't it. They need more scoring, they need to stay healthy, and they need to be consistent overall.
After losing to the Carolina Hurricanes in five games, only to see them lose to the Florida Panthers by the same fate, it showed just how far the Devils are to making it to the Stanley Cup Final. There is no world where they can beat the Panthers as currently constructed. They need to make bold moves.
They could go about this in three different avenues. Fitzgerald has liked the trade route in the past, but with players like Sam Bennett available, he might go after some high-profile free agents. The other avenue is one Fitzgerald has never targeted in the past. The Devils can offer sheet a restricted free agent. There are multiple interesting restricted free agents the Devils could target. One makes a lot of sense for the Devils.
Will Cuylle broke out for the Rangers this season. He scored 20 goals and added 25 assists on a dumpster fire of a Rangers team. At 23 years old, there's no reason to believe he won't keep getting better. The 2020 second-round pick looks like a legit player for the Rangers, and he's grown in his role. He could be a top-six player as soon as next season.
That could be a top-six player for the Devils. Cuylle does not have a contract for next season. He is a restricted free agent, which means the Rangers retain his rights during the negotiation process. If the Devils make him an offer, he has every right to accept. And in that case, the Rangers would have a chance to match. If they don't, the Devils would get the player.
Devils should see what Will Cuylle will cost on an offer sheet
In that scenario, the Devils have to send compensation to the Rangers based on the contract Cuylle signs. If the Devils sign a deal from one-to-five years in length at around $4 million per season, it would only cost the Devils a second-round pick in 2026. The Rangers would likely thank the Devils for doing the negotiations for the Rangers at that point.
The Devils have to go bold, like we said, so this contract needs to be bold as well. The Devils would have to go to the next threshold, which would cost the Devils a first-and-third-round pick. This gives them the ability to go all the way up to $7 million per season.
The Rangers would either let a promising young player go, or they would overpay him. Either way, the Devils win here. Cuylle could really round out the Devils' top six, and they wouldn't lose anything outside of cap space and draft picks in this scenario. Is he worth $7 million? We think the Devils would hope to get him for $6 million. However, to truly get Rangers GM Chris Drury to sweat, they'd have to go to this level on their 23-year-old scorer.